First big WCAL test for St. Francis with its new QB, Antioch-Liberty, Overfelt's pursuit of history and more

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St. Francis’ Evan Williams (32) makes a one-handed catch for a touchdown against De La Salle in the fourth quarter of their high school football game in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. De La Salle beats St. Francis 33-15. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

First and 10

Five big questions heading into Week 8

Not that we’re trying to rush matters, but can you believe that the North Coast Section playoff matchups will be unveiled three weeks from Sunday?

Three weeks!

The Central Coast Section pairings come out a week later, and both sections will hold their championships on the weekend of Nov. 23-24.

Yes, the season is moving along at a quick pace.

In this edition of Bay Area Preps HQ, we’ve got excerpts from our story about Overfelt chasing history, the weekend video preview, athletes of the week, De La Salle returning to action after a bye and much more.

On to the questions …

1. Given St. Francis’ QB situation, what are its chances against Valley Christian?

No team ever wants to lose its starting quarterback, especially with the biggest games still to be played. But that’s St. Francis’ predicament. Jack Perry is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL two weeks ago, and his absence further handicaps an offense that already was without 2017 Bay Area News Group offensive player of the year Darrell Page for undisclosed reasons. The running back who broke St. Francis’ season rushing record last fall is ow at Homestead. All that said, St. Francis’ defense is still very good and capable of keeping the score tight enough against Valley Christian to win. Valley’s offense has soared in its first two West Catholic Athletic League games, a 45-7 win over Sacred Heart Cathedral and 41-0 rout of St. Ignatius. But in its last trip to Mountain View, two years ago, Valley scored 10 points and lost by three in OT. Look for a similar score if St. Francis is to emerge with a victory.

2. Is Antioch capable of upsetting high-powered Liberty?

If Liberty plays as well as it did in the second half against Freedom, Antioch is going to have a tough time, even at home. But that level of dominance is not automatic — this is high school, after all — and Antioch knows that its hopes for at least a share of the Bay Valley Athletic League championship and outside shot at a North Coast Section Open Division bid will be toast with another loss. QB Willem Karnthong was battling the flu when Antioch lost at Freedom 14-7 two weeks ago. The senior will need to be in tip-top condition Friday to keep pace with Liberty’s three-headed monster — QB Jay Butterfield, RB Tyerell Sturges-Cofer and receiver Sione Vaki. Antioch has scored at least 34 points in every game but two — a 24-7 season-opening win against Lincoln-Stockton and the Freedom game. In the past 14 meetings between Liberty and Antioch, the teams are 7-7 against one another, with Liberty winning last season 23-6.

3. Is Wilcox vulnerable, even slightly, against Los Gatos?

History suggests this is a big-time trap game for Wilcox, which is undefeated and a week removed from a huge win at home over Palo Alto. Los Gatos is 12-3-1 against the Chargers the past 14 years and should be ultra-motivated for a bounce-back at home Friday night after losing at Milpitas 17-7 last week. But, in reality, Wilcox is probably too strong for an upset. The Chargers just beat a Palo Alto team by two touchdowns that blew out Milpitas the previous week. Wilcox also has a 31-point win over San Benito, which beat Los Gatos by 10 a week later.

4. What’s at stake when Granada visits Amador Valley?

In all likelihood, the East Bay Athletic League’s Valley Division championship will be decided with the outcome between these 5-1 teams. Granada is coming off a 36-14 win over Dublin, and Amador Valley crushed Dougherty Valley 58-7 last week. Dublin and Dougherty Valley are the only other teams in the division with winning records. Amador is 11-4 against Granada since 2004, including wins in the past four games.

5. What’s with Terra Nova, Menlo-Atherton playing a day game Friday?

The big game this week in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division will be played under daytime skies at Menlo-Atherton, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. M-A coach Adhir Ravipati said his team is allowed four night games at home per season as part of a settlement with the school’s neighbors. This season, the Bears have five home games. “The biggest concern is making sure the kids are ready to go right off the bat,” said Ravipati, whose team routed Aragon last week. “It’s a little bit of a weird kickoff environment, where there is no one in the stands and it almost feels like practice sometimes. But I think we’ll be OK. It’ll be interesting, but it’s a challenge that we’re going to have to look forward to and find a way to get through.”

— Darren Sabedra

What to watch

For more on the weekend’s top matchups and the weekend football schedule, check out our “Bay Area Games to Watch” preview here.

Chasing history

Undefeated Overfelt knows all about 1998

Overfelt’s football team is embracing history, welcoming the past with open arms. It understands that 1998 is a talking point — the elephant in the room, as one player described it — as the undefeated Royals win game after game.

Back in the spring, coach Carlo Maningo gathered his players in the East San Jose school’s gymnasium and pointed to the banner, the one that honors the program’s most accomplished team.

“I told them it’s going to take a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work to hang one of those up here,” Maningo said. “The kids bought into it. When they see it and that it’s been done here at Overfelt, they feel like we’re the group that can do it.”

Twenty years ago, a team led by stars like running back Larry Morris and 24-year-old wiz-kid coach Joe Cattolico won the school’s only Central Coast Section football championship, a dream season culminated by a victory over Wilcox in the final.

This year’s team — a talented bunch that includes Morris’ son Laron and standouts like quarterback Ulysses Reyes and running back Ulyses Alvarado — has similar dreams.

“Every great team chases something,” said Maningo, a 1995 Overfelt graduate whose younger brother, Joseph, played on the championship team. “We’re chasing that ’98 team.”

Overfelt finished 11-2 in 1998, its second of three seasons under Cattolico. It has not come close to reaching that level of success since then.

This season is the first since 2003 that Overfelt has not played in the lowest of the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s three divisions. The Royals are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the middle division, the Santa Teresa, heading into their game Friday night at Branham.

Back in league

Fresh from a bye, De La Salle returns to action for EBAL division opener

For the first time in seven years, De La Salle will play an official league game Friday night.

No longer a freelancer, the Spartans are now in the Mountain Division of the East Bay Athletic League, a five-team grouping that also includes this week’s opponent, Monte Vista, as well as California, San Ramon Valley and Foothill.

To be clear, De La Salle was never technically out of the league.

In the previous format, the Spartans still received the EBAL’s automatic bid into the North Coast Section playoffs even though none of their games counted in the league standings.

Now they count.

Recruiting update

DLS’s Foskey, To’oto’o make official visits

Four-star tight end/defensive end Isaiah Foskey said last weekend’s recruiting trip to Notre Dame was a great experience.

“Going for the official visit, I learned more about the tradition they had,” said Foskey, who made an unofficial visit in the spring.

Foskey said he plans to make official visits to Washington, Ohio State and Michigan.

Ohio State and Michigan are recruiting Foskey as a tight end. The others in his final five, including Cal, are recruiting him for defense.

“I’d rather play defense,” Foskey said.

Linebacker/running back Henry To’oto’o took an official visit to Washington last weekend. He gave the trip high marks, according to 247Sports, but returned home with the flu.

Darren Sabedra is a sports reporter and the high school sports editor, overseeing prep coverage throughout the Bay Area. He's been with the Bay Area News Group since the early 1990s and has covered many sports beats, including Stanford football and basketball, pro baseball and the NFL. He also has worked on the sports copy desk.